extracted. >> so if the police are grabbing all this stuff and i can hack into the police, i can get it because they've picked it up for me. >> now you've got it. >> sam biddle of gizmodo.com gets tonight's last word. thanks, sam. >> thank you. > mitt romney dreams the impossible dream. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm michael smerconish in for chris matthews. leading off tonight mission impossible. if someone played the mission impossible theme as mitt romney took the stage today at the naacp, it would not have been inappropriate. trying to persuade a black audience to vote out the first african-american president, no easy task. say this for romney, he didn't pander. he proved that by telling an unsympathetic audience he would repeal health care reform. check out the reaction.

>> i'm going to work to reform and save -- [ booing ] >> why did he do it? we'll get into that at the top of the program. among the issues of the great importance to the naacp audience are the new state laws restricting access to voting. and we now know what effect new laws in florida and iowa are having in making it harder for likely democrats to vote. also, speaking of health care for the 33rd time. the house voted to repeal president obama's health care law. are republicans willing to admit that would mean taking away all of the popular provisions, too? and what's the story with jesse jackson jr.? he took a hiatus citing physical and emotional ailments. rumors are spreading even democrats are saying it is time to come clean. finally, let me finish tonight with why president obama is a big tax cutter. but you don't even know it. we begin with mitt romney and the naacp. ben jealous is the president and ceo of the organization and

willie brown was the mayor of san francisco. gentlemen, mitt romney was received with polite but tepid applause this morning until he vowed to get rid of obamacare at which point the crowd shouted him down with boos. >> i'm going to eliminate every non-essential expensive program i can find. that includes obama care and i'm going to work to reform and save -- [ booing ] >> does he deserve some credit? he came in and here is a guy constantly under attack for being a flip-flopper but the -- the speech he delivered was pure mitt romney today. does he win points for that? >> you know, he had a choice. hay could come there and really seek to talk to the people in the room and the communities they represent. or he could come there and try to send a signal somewhere else. and when -- it seems like for the first part of the speech he was actually trying to speak to the people in the room. but then when he used the phrase

repeal obama care, not repeal the aca or, you know, repeal the health care bill, but repeal obama care -- >> very deliberate. >> -- it became clear he was sending a signal somewhere else. that's disappointing. he missed a real opportunity to build a bridge here. hay could have taken the 5% of his speech which is all that it was and replaced it with a bridge. he could, for instance, have talked about how newt gingrich, grover norquist with the naacp this time last year and announced their support for our smart on crime push to reform criminal justice systems across the country, it has been embraced one way or the other by republican governors from rick perry to mr. diehl down in georgia, various aspects of it. how there is common ground. he didn't do that. >> if he hadn't referenced health care and i get the semantic issue you raised and i

think it's legitimate, wouldn't we be sitting here right now saying ah-ha. didn't go anywhere near the affordable health care act. >> folks know you have 20 minutes and you are only going talk about so many issues. the question is are you going to come there, show some courage, and show that you have thought really critically and not just talk about problems we can agree on but actually talk about policy solutions we can come together on. and he didn't really do that. even when he got into talk about the issue of schools, he didn't say anything but that he would do specifically for our traditional public schools. that's where most of our kids go. >> mayor brown, let me ask you a question. i think mr. jealous raises an interesting question. who or what was the real audience today? >> i think that mr. romney just by showing up obviously deserves some acknowledgment and some respect. but as ben says, he did not speak to the working class people who were in that room. he spoke beyond them.

had spoke to the normal republican base he is attempting to motivate. he needed the business of the boos to re-ensure that he is the guy that they can trust not to do anything that anybody in that anybody in that room would want him to do. and he successfully conveyed that. >> now you're playing real hardball. by drawing the boos this went according to plan. this fit the script and romney campaign got out. they got out exactly what they were looking for. >> there's no question in my mind that they got out exactly what they were looking for. after all, he could have very easily taken the high road and he could have proceeded to said things that the obama administration will not say about issues affecting the lives of black people. he could have shown clearly how he intends to extend the opportunity and he could have convinced by saying i'm sorry the president isn't here.

i'm here telling you that i will always come and respect your organization by appearing before you. >> governor romney did promise a jobs agenda. he vowed to be the best president for african-americans which was met with a mixed response. let's watch this. >> i'm going to eliminate every non-essential expensive program i can find. that includes obama care and i'm going to work to reform and save -- [ booing ] >> mayor, what is it he didn't say? he is addressing the point as we all know of 14% unemployment in the african-american community. you think he should have gone further in that regard. >> he absolutely showed no evidence from what i saw. i was not there. but from what i observed, he showed absolutely no evidence of the appropriate approach to the people who were in attendance. if he simply said that factually

in america currently the policies of this country causes 22% to be unemployed in african-american and disadvantaged communities, i will reduce that number and it will be no worse than the general unemployment and here are three, four, five, or six steps i intend to do. somewhat similar to what was done under george schultz in the nixon administration when they did the setaside. they did all of the things they did to make it possible for african-americans to go into business. he obviously didn't have the perspective of that, had not been told that and didn't do it. >> why is the president not coming to attend and speak to this group? >> he said his schedule -- he just couldn't make it work. look, we understand that a man who is running for president, isn't president, has one job. is that's to become president. one who is president has two. that's running for president and

running the country. we understand many of us what it is like to have two jobs. i think he gets a bye on that. especially because he sent his vice president and a.g. and sent his apologies. we worked with him right up until last week to figure out how to make this work. >> it will be interesting what kind of speech the vice president delivers tomorrow. you know the role of a vice president in a campaign like this. it is often to bring the lumber and it will be interesting to see what kind of a speech he delivers at the naacp tomorrow. >> that's right. and again, i wish that mr. romney had really sat down with the numbers, looked at republican campaigns the past 40 years and said to himself how do we get these numbers up. what we have seen is that the -- progressively gone down with the exception of with our when george bush got just above 10%. the last time around was a real low watermark for them. he had an opportunity here to

start pushing those numbers back up. and, you know, quite frankly, it has been in the best interests of civil rights in generations past for there to be bipartisan involvement of black people and the party system. >> mr. jealous is the vote really up for grabs? is it in play? i mean, is the data. african-americans in '08 went for obama over mccain by a factor of 20. he won 95% of the vote to mccain's 4%. a quinnipiac poll shows things have not changed. african-american voters favor the president over mitt romney by 92% to just 2%. is that vote up for grabs? is it available to mitt romney regardless of what he says? >> look, he could have gone back one cycle before that to 2004. when george bush got more than 10% of the black vote. and said that's what i want to do and try to pick up those numbers. we will be having a very different conversation.

sure, nine out of ten people aren't going to vote for you but the difference between nine out of ten and 19 out of 20 is actually significant when you're trying to become president. instead by using this very antagonistic phrase and speaking to people outside the room as s primary target, he just lost a real opportunity. >> gentlemen, thank you. ben jealous, willie brown, we appreciate your being here. >> thank you. >> coming up, new laws in the key swing states of florida and iowa. may make it harder for likely democratic voters to vote this november. that's the whole idea. this is "hardball" the place for politics. [ female announcer ] over the last ten years, your mouth has sipped, snacked, ...yellowed... giggled, snuggled, ...yellowed... chatted, chewed, ...yellowed. and over all those years, your teeth...have yellowed. fact is, if you're not whitening, you're yellowing. crest 3d white whitestrips remove over ten years of stains by going below the enamel surface.

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to define mitt romney before he can define himself. new polling from swing states show it might be working. polls for priorities usa finds the president leading in some key battle ground states. let's check the "hardball" score board. starting in colorado, where the president has a 7-point lead over romney 49% to 42%. in florida the president leads governor romney by four. next to ohio where the president's lead is seven. 48% to 41%. in pennsylvania, obama's lead is nine. 49% to 40%. and in virginia, a closer race but the president is still up three. 46% to 43%. lastly, here's a new ppp poll out of wisconsin. obama's lead over romney has grown to six. 50% to 44%. all good news for obama but remember, these are pollsters that tend to favor democrats. we'll be right back.

welcome back to "hardball." republican governors in iowa and florida are making it harder for

felons who have served their sentences to get back a fundamental right of citizenship. the right to vote. critics argue it is another way to tamp down voter turnout ahead of november's election especially among typically democratic voters. the bureau of justice reports that 60% of prison inmates across the nation are black or hispanic. florida and iowa are two of the handful of states that don't automatically reinstate an ex-felon's right to vote. but they happen to be swing states. joining me now are lenny curry, chairman of the florida republican party and eugene robinson, msnbc political analyst. and "washington post" columnist. mr. curry, what accounts inform -- from the change from charlie crist's watch to governor scott's watch? why? >> charlie crist, when he automatically restored felonies' rights without any process, without any process before any board or any hearing. the question is when you think about a felony, a drug trafficker.

what would you say to their families that person serves their time and their votes righting automatically be restored? >> i would say the same thing i said about michael vick. playing quarterback for the eagles. i don't like it but he paid his debt to society. man has to eat. if we really believe in the process of fulfilling one's debt to society, then you have to allow them all the rights which includes voting. no? >> it's reasonable to have a waiting period. and after that waiting period a process where you go before a board and make your case as to why your voting rights should be restored. as a felon, you have violated the rights of other citizens. and by the way, criminals not being able to vote goes back to romans and the greeks. >> i get it. but in most states, as you well know, in the united states, that's not the way it is handled. now there are just handful of states that do not allow you to come back and immediately re-enter -- i'm not for felons but if you paid your debt to

society we have to let you walk out and re-establish your ties to the community. eugene robinson, where am i wrong in all of this? >> you're right, michael. look, why -- why do we have prisons? we have -- we have prisons and prison sentences to punish people for the crimes they committed. and so if you committed a felony, you should go to jail. and you should -- you should pay your debt to society. once you paid that debt, it's paid. and i do not believe and will never believe that you should give up your citizenship and your rights as a citizen because of a crime that you've already paid your debt to society for. i think that's wrong. >> eugene, i have said that -- i don't believe in coincidence. where have you almost three dozen states, quote, unquote, tightening their voter i.d. standards at a time the nation is looking at the potential re-election of the first african-american president, you know, you start to think that -- what's going on out there? is this all connected is what i want to ask you.

>> i absolutely believe it's all connected i mean, you certainly heard what the -- >> >> mr. curry -- i'm sorry. mr. turzai. >> yeah. mr. turzai. about voter i.d. will allow mitt romney to win pennsylvania. and it is about reducing the number of voters who are deemed likely to vote for democrats. >> mr. curry, would you respond to that? i want to be fair to you. that's also how i see it, sir. >> we don't believe that felons should never have the right to vote again. there should be a process after they serve their time where they can apply to have the right to vote. the other side of this is the democrats are making this argument not because they believe felons should vote. they want this to be a political issue. they want to pit one group against another because they don't have a record to run on. >> the associated press, gentlemen, reported that since governor terry bran stad took

office in january of 2011 8,000 felons in iowa have finished their prison sentences or being released from community supervision but less than a dozen have successfully navigated the process of applying to get their citizenship rights back. the offices denied handful of others because of incomplete paperwork or unpaid court costs. eugene, it is an instance like that, coupled with florida, coupled with tennessee and i think virginia is the fourth that causes me to say that it would appear there's something going on. >> yeah. and appearances in this case add up to a big picture and we all know what that picture is. it is to disenfranchise. that's the big picture. specifically on felons voting rights, i think there is a fundamental question here, have you paid your debt to society or not? if you have, then there should be no process. there should be no lengthy form you have to fill out and you should not have to go in front of a board because, again, that's what we have punishments for.

and once the punishment is done, you've -- it's done. you've paid your debt and you've ought to be able to have the full rights of citizenship. >> mr. curry, your response to that is what? >> part of paying the debt is proving that you can assimilate back into society and that you, in fact, should -- that you -- you should have the right to vote based on your performance and that you are not going to participate in criminal activity anymore. think about drunk driving. so you get pulled over for dui, you go to jail, you pay a fine, and you lose your license. so should it just be one of those for the penalty or all three of those part of the penalty? >> respectfully there is a causal connection there. a nexus, a tie, between operating a vehicle while you are drunk and surrendering your license. in this case, what's it got to do with voting? i guess would be the question. >> okay. so a felon committed a crime and violated the rights of another citizen and individual. they serve their time in jail. now without proving that they have turned their life around, they're going to go and cast

votes for the people who are going to set the law they broke? there is a relationship there as well. >> wouldn't the bigger issue be why are we letting you out of jail? if that's the level of concern like we've got worries here this person may not be ready to reacclimate, we shouldn't be letting him out to begin with. that's a bigger issue whether you are allowed to vote. >> there ought to be a waiting period, time where they can then appeal and they get their voting rights back. this is common sense. talk to the families that have had a felony committed against them. >> attorney general eric holder spoke at the naacp convention yesterday and took aim at texas' new voter i.d. law. he called the burdens imposed on the law poll tax those are referenced to the jim crowe era fees that disenfranchised black people. take a look at this. >> many of those without i.d.s would have to travel great distances to get them. and some would struggle to pay for the documents they might need to obtain them. we call those poll taxes. we will be vigilant and we will

be strong. but let me be clear. let me be very clear. we will not allow political pretext to disenfranchise american citizens of their most precious rights. >> eugene, this is also playing itself out in my home state, chris' native pennsylvania, where we've all seen the report. 9.2% lack the principle form of the identification supplied by the department, pennsylvania department of transportation. i am hearing that the naacp -- pardon me, aclu will document it's even higher than 9.2% and that the aclu also believes that the state of pennsylvania in defending its voter i.d. law cannot produce one case offer personation fraud like this is intended to prevent. >> the state has not yet produced one case of impersonation and, in fact, between 2002 and 2007, the justice department under

president bush conducted a nationwide huge effort against voter fraud. they were prodded by political activists to do this and they did it. they ended up convicting a grand total in the country of 300 million people. convicted 86 people. most of them incidentally, a lot of them are felons who have voted -- who weren't aware that they didn't get -- have the right to vote. they had thought, quite rightly, that they served their sentence and could vote. that was the most they netted in this came pain against voter fraud. and not as far as i can tell, not a single case of impersonation of the kind that would be solved by voter i.d. >> thank you. we appreciate your being here. up next, we'll find out what "saturday night live"'s fred armson does to get into character when he plays president obama. and remember you can follow me on twitter if you can spell smerconish. this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ buzz ] off to work!

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back to "hardball." now for the sideshow. showbiz edition. the presidential race will be down to the wire when "saturday night live" returns this fall. cast member fred armisen took center stage quite a bit this past season in the role of president obama. that certainly won't change when the season kicks off. armisen sat down with david letterman last night and revealed how he gets into the obama mode. >> basically, you know, when i -- when i do him, i just kind of like make sure to kind of -- start off by say hello. sometimes he shakes his head like this, like it is going to be okay. and then -- he has been doing this other thing where he -- shows off his profile. he has such a great profile. it is kind of like -- almost like someone drew a caricature on the side.

he's like -- >> we have to keep an eye out for that new one. now to the newsroom, the hbo version. tea party senator mike lee of utah is disturbed by an art imitates life scene where a cable tv anchor played by jeff daniels talks to the news division chief about the rise of the far right in 2010. >> bob bennett, most conservative member of the senate is going to lose his primary race to a guy named mike lee because lee found room to the right of bennett. >> you wouldn't think that was possible. how is there room to the right of bob bennett? >> for starters a part of the speech is repealing the 14th amendment. it's an applause line. he will win his primary by double digits. >> according to the salt lake tribune, lee placed a call into hbo and further more lee's office argues the senator never said he wanted to repeal the 14th amendment though he has supported clarifying the interpretation of its language. supported clarifying the interpretation of its language. grants u.s. citizenship to

anyone born within its borders. what exactly do they mean by clarifying the 14th amendment? flashback to lee's senate campaign in 2010. >> the 14th amendment provides that any person born in the united states who is subject to the jurisdiction thereof shall be a citizen of the united states. the way i read that amendment is that you're not necessarily subject to the jurisdiction sof the united states just because you're born here. and if you're born to parents of illegal aliens who have come here in open violation of our laws, you're not born in the united states and subject to the jurisdiction thereof. >> okay. true. he doesn't say repeal. but there is no disputing he campaign order denying citizenship to children of illegal immigrants even if the children are born in the united states. hbo has not commented publicly on the complaint from lee. up next, for the 33rd time republicans in the house voted down all or part of president obama's health care law. they keep talking about repealing it, but what's their plan? you're watching "hardball," the

place for politics.

welcome back "hardball." it was a day of political theater on capitol hill as house republicans pushed a vote to repeal the affordable care act. not surprisingly, it passed 244 to 185. what does that mean? it is certain to die in the senate. you may be curious what was the purpose of calling the vote in the first place? it is a good question. it wasn't the first time republicans pushed a symbolic vote against health care. in fact, this was the 33rd time the house voted on repealing all or part of the president's health care law. what exactly was the point of today's political stunt? congressman steve israel is the chairman of the committee. congressman, 33 times?

how come? >> because they will do everything they can, as many times as they can, for as long as they have the majority to protect insurance company profits instead of strengthening the middle class. they began their majority in january of 2011 by voting for a ryan budget that took medicare away from senior citizens. they will end their majority by voting endlessly to repeal patient protections for the middle class. that's what they do here and what they care about. >> all the republicans lined up, you had five break ranks. why five? >> look, you know, we have a diverse caucus and we have members of congress in our caucus and who represent conservative districts and progressive districts. i don't think we should be held accountable for five democrats who voted differently. i think the republican majority should be held accountable for the fact that every single one of them voted in lock step with the big insurance companies to protect the insurance company profits and instead tell middle class constituents that all the protections they have now have been taken away. if you are a woman with breast

cancer, today the republicans voted to take away the protection from the insurance companies saying it is a pre-existing condition. >> i'm sorry. would you allow me to show you something that was written in the daily beast today. quote, a do-over is rare in politics. and the supreme court handed one to president obama by upholding his much you a lined health care law. backers of the president and health care reform that he pushed through and which cost democrats the house would like the administration and campaign alies to move more aggressively and take advantage of the judicial thumbs up. why has the obama team shied away from bringing the law into sharper focus and now that it has been ruled constitutional? you know the issue. there is a perception that no ds out there selling it. there is not a response from the democratic opponents. >> i respectfully disagree. in fact, i was at the white house today for a meeting with the president and the house democratic leadership who we talked specifically about the fact that the american people in the middle class support this

bill. in fact, i can just give you recent polling. "washington post" did a poll today. only one-third of the american people support a full repeal of the bill. as the chairman of the democratic congressional campaign committee, i have been outspoken in advising our candidates not to run away from the patient protections but instead to talk about how important they are to growing the middle class. >> i would say you are the exception. i think that you are the exception to the rule. because i just don't hear -- and for a living i take phone calls from all across the country. i hear from people who say that the democratic candidate is running from it even if they voted for it. i think the price you pay is all of the misinformation. you know, lie of the year. this is all a takeover of health care. but that permeates if it is not responded to. >> here is what we learned from 2010. the more people know about this, these patient protections, the more popular the patient protections are. we learned that from 2010. we are articulating tonight 2012. and i have said to all of our

candidates, if you think the strategy to winning an election is to defend or to run away from this, that strategy in 2010 didn't work. the strategy is we should be running on it because as people know more about it, becomes more popular and today's "washington post" poll is proof of that. >> thank you, congressman steve israel. republicans and democrats spent hours today debating the merits of the president's health care law. here was speaker of the house john boehner and minority leader nancy pelosi. >> there's a better way, and that's why we're here today. americans want a step by step approach that protects the access to care that they need from the doctor they choose at a lower cost. they certainly didn't ask for the government takeover of their health care system that's put us in this mess that we're in today. >> american people want us to create jobs. that's what we should be using this time on the floor for. not on this useless bill to nowhere.

bill to nowhere that does serious damage to the health and economic well being of america's families. >> that's what went on today on the floor of the house where this overwhelming vote was taken without a surprise ending. it will now go to the senate, perhaps, and there it will die a slow death. we're joined now by louisiana congressman. he was booed today when talked about eliminating obama care. >> i'm going to eliminate every non-essential program i can find. i'm going to work to reform and save -- [ booing ] >> why, sir, does this necessitate 33 votes? don't you think the votes already got the message as to how the house feels? >> first of all, this is the

first time since the supreme court made their decision that confirmed it is a massive tax increase that we've had a chance to go back and say let's have another opportunity to repeal obama care. look, it has been over 30 months since the senate passed a budget. that doesn't matter we stop doing our job in the house and passing a budget. by the same token, you know, if you look at the bill, you know, nancy pelosi famously said you have to pass it to find out what's in it. the american people don't like nancy pelosi and barack obama's vision of a government-run health care system. we want to give people the chance to repeal this, start over and fix the problems in health care and instead of the massive tax increases on middle class families in this bill as well as the increased health care costs and the government coming between doctors and patients. republican party now putting forth having achieved this 33rd vote on rejecting obama care? >> we've got a series of things we put forward to reform health care and actually lower the cost. one thing we passed just a few weeks ago was a major medical liability reform bill that will save $100 billion in medicare

and in health care overall and actually lower the cost of health care. and in addition to that, of course, obama care takes $500 billion out of medicare which has expedited the bankruptcy of medicare. so would have taken steps to shore up medicare and make sure it doesn't go bankrupt. we've passed a number of bills and we're ready to go with even more once we get repeal. >> is there anything that will be introduced and voted on between now and november that would take care of the 30 million who are uninsured, will be insured according to the affordable care act, in the event there is a replacement scenario? >> outside groups have already confirmed millions of americans will lose the health care they have that they like under obama care. what we have done is passed measures and we are going to continue to bring this up, pass measures that will actually increase access and lower costs for not only the millions of americans that are uninsured but the millions of americans that have health care today that they like that that health care is jeopardized by obama care. that's just not -- not just from outside groups.

we're already seeing small businesses saying they can't comply with this law. 75% of businesses that have looked at the law said we don't know how we can keep providing health care for our employees that they like. >> i know, sir, if chris were here he would be saying something like there were eight years on president obama's watch and 12 years before on clinton's watch where the republican party didn't put forth a health plan. is anything going to change if you get your wish? >> i'm not sure what chris would have said but i know i wasn't there when that happened. i know what we are trying to do now. we brought bills forward and i co-sponsored many that would lower the cost of health care, fix the real problems like making sure people with pre-existing condition are not discriminated against. you have to make sure you are not gutting medicare with cuts that the president has in his bill. and the hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes on middle class families that broke the president's own pledge where he said he wouldn't raise taxes on middle class families. and he did it under obama care. we are trying to set the record straight, repeal this and start over and fix the real problems.

>> thank you. >> thanks. up next, what's going on with congressman jesse jackson jr.? rumors are spreading after he went on hiatus citing physical and emotional ailments. we will try to get answers next. this is "hardball," the place for politics. those little things still get you. for you, life's about her. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision,

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if you want to know where the presidential campaign being fought this week, check out the cities, the campaigns and their allies are spending the most money on in tv ads. the top five markets are in two states. florida and colorado. coming in at number five, orlando, florida. number four, denver, colorado. number three is tampa where the republicans will hold their convention next month. at number two it's grand junction, colorado, where governor romney spoke yesterday. and the top ad market this week and the presidential race, colorado springs. same as last week. we will be right back.

we are back. illinois congressman jesse jackson jr., the son of the civil rights leader, hasn't been showing up for work for a month now. suffering from an illness shrouded in mystery. on june 25, his office released a statement saying he was suffering from exhaustion and had been on leave since june 10. then on july 5, there was another statement. here's a portion, quote, congressman jackson's medical condition is more serious than we thought and initially believed. recently, we have been made aware that he's grappled with certain physical and emotional ailments privately for a long period of time. at present he's undergoing further evaluation and treatment at an in-patient medical facility. according to the preliminary diagnosis from his doctors, congressman jackson will need to receive extended in-patient treatment and as well as continuing medical treatment thereafter. jim warren is a former managing editor for the chicago tribune. johnathan allen for politico.

jim, wla do you know? >> well, not beyond -- nothing beyond that. that's why this whole matter is absolutely inept and going. think about what you just said. june 25, his constituents found out he hadn't been voting since june 10 for them. the fact is he relinquishes the luxury of privacy even if one obviously has a, you know, humane reaction to this and sympathizes his plight. relinquishes the right to privacy. nobody here yet knows what he is doing. his constituents aren't being represented and supported in congress. and don't know if he will still be running for re-election. he has would opponents. it is a symbol of what really has been an unfortunate almost melancholy design of a kid born into the political elite, son of reverend jesse jackson. had everything going for him. got elected in his late 20s to congress. has been there 17 years.

and now is a wash in controversy. knin there 17 years and now is awash in controversy, infudillty that became public, and what looked like to be the fact that he may have skirted actual criminal indictment in the same matter that resulted in our most recent governor serving time in a colorado federal prison now. >> you mean blagojevich. regarding rumors on a radio station that he had attempted suicide, his father told politico, no, that's not true. he's with his doctor and getting treatment, regaining his strength. that's all i really want to say at this point. pick up on the point that jim was making that there were ethical questions surrounding the former senate seat held by now president obama and blagojevich and what role jackson jr. may have played in all of that. >> well, congressman jackson is a smart man who has been wrestling with serious demons both in his personal and professional life for a couple years now. you mentioned the blagojevich scandal where he was at the

fringed of that, the attempt to sell a senate seat, accusations that jesse jackson jr.'s political fund-raiser attempted to put together some money for blagojevich's campaign. you also have a situation here where he's under investigation by the ethics committee in washington, d.c. a lot raining down on him these days. a lot of it self-made, self-inflicted, and he's started to get some friendly fire from democrats who want to hear more. >> i would echo what jonathan said, that the calls are coming from both sides of the aisle for him to being more forthcoming. >> yeah, and you know, one interesting, decidedly local frame of reference is just a few months ago, the junior senator from illinois, mark kirk, had a stroke, and after initial similar questioning about what has been going on, has been forthcoming about a difficult situation as he rehabbed from a stroke, even putting out videos where some of the impairment is quite clear. i think that's the frame of reference, but again, the way

this has been handled so far is absolutely galling and inept, and folks need to know. he's in a re-election campan. is he going to be able to run. >> you would think they would have to be more forthcoming, they will have to response given now how front and center this has all become. >> the ultimate decision as jim points out is going to be made by jesse jackson jr.'s constituents. if they want more information, he's going to have to provide it or he'll pay for it at the ballot box, if not this time, next time. it was a tough primary this time. there were a lot of politicians who wanted to see him lose to debbie halbertson in the primary. that didn't happen. >> we wish him good health and hope he's able to continue on and to function. thank you jim and jonathan. we appreciate it. when we return, let me finish with something president obama needs to improve on, his messaging. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics.

let me finish with a comment on semantics and messaging. right here on monday night in a conversation about the president's proposal to extend certain bush tax cuts, i said he or she making $250,000 is going to enjoy the tax cuts on the first $250,000 of that. in other words, everybody would be a beneficiary in this scenario. i was trying to be precise about my language because it occurred to me there's something misleading in the conversation about the tax cuts. the lead of the monday "new york times" story read, quote, with a torpid job market and a fragile economy threatening his re-election chances, president obama is changing the subject to tax fairness, calling for a one year extension of the bush-era tax cuts for people making less than $250,000. accurate? yes, but the extension is not just for people making less than $250 k.

it would also apply to the first $250,000 earned by people who make more than that. dan o'meara at new york magazine spells out what i'm talking ability. he noted some of the media outlets who have gotten this wrong and then he wrote, obama is not proposing that families making up to $250,000 a year keep their tax cuts while families making more than that don't. he's proposing that every family keep their tax cuts on the first $250,000 of taxable income which is not the same as income or earnings by the way, that includes families with taxable income of $260,000. $1 million, $5 billion, $3 trillion, or whatever jayz and beyonce make in a year. he then correctly stated that obama himself has failed to communicate this clearly. here's what the president had to say on monday. >> that's why i'm calling on congress to extend the tax cuts for the 98% of americans who make less than $250,000 for another year.

>> this is part of a bigger issue. barack obama was the best of communicators in the 2008 election. but attempting to sell his policies as president has been a different story. on the subject of tax cuts, many americans did not recognize a tax cut he gave them. ezra klein's blog noted of the stimulus bill, 36% was devoted to tax cuts, of which the biggest by far was the making work pay tax credit, which was a refundable tax credit of $400 for individuals and $800 for married couples filing jointly implemented by tax withholding. a fair number of people didn't even notice their taxes were cut even though it cause $116.2 billion. just today, the washington post reported that americans paid the lowest tax rate in 30 years to the federal government in 2009 in part because of c